1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the transfer and storage of solid animal waste, and replenishment of kitty litter, particularly as an attachment to a self-cleaning kitty litter box.
2. Background Art
With cats now becoming the most popular type of domestic pet, the use of kitty litter boxes continues to increase proportionally. Kitty litter boxes are normally made of plastic or similar material so that the cat""s urine will not leak through the box. The box has placed in it one of any number of particulate kitty litter material meant to absorb moisture and odor from the cat""s waste, as well as provide clumping agents so that the cat""s liquid waste may solidify. These particulate materials are generally referred to as kitty litter. Cats also tend to bury their solid waste in the kitty litter.
General practice for most cat owners is to discard the kitty litter after an extended period of time. However, before the kitty litter has reached a state where it needs to be totally dumped, it is often necessary to periodically remove the cat""s solid waste in order to prevent it from being kicked out of the litter box by the cat upon subsequent visits to the litter box, so that the cat or other animals do not step on the solid waste, thereby transferring it to other areas and causing a potential mess.
Many cat owners find the task of manually searching the kitty litter for solid waste to be obnoxious and burdensome. Thus, inventors have sought to devise ways of cleaning the solid waste automatically from kitty litter boxes. Patents showing devices for cleaning litter boxes include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,096,827; 4,180,804; 4,190,525; 4,325,325; and 4,325,822. More recently, the inventor""s licensee has commercialized a self-cleaning litter box, covered by U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,465 and issued to the inventor of the present invention, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,812, which discloses a self-cleaning litter box. While such litter box is self-cleaning, the solid waste holder, when full, must be slid out of the housing so that the solid waste may be dumped.
When a cat owner is away for a significant period of time or is otherwise unable to dump the tray, the cat""s solid waste may collect and overflow the tray, which is unsightly and potentially messy due to the cats kicking it from box, etc. In other embodiments of the self-cleaning cat tray, a sensor provided in cooperation with the lid may cause the unit to cease operating when the tray becomes filled to a pre-determined limit, such as when the lid is oriented away from its rest position.
Also, since in many self-cleaning options, kitty litter is dumped into the tray with waste, over a period of time, the amount of kitty litter for use by the cat is reduced.
Accordingly, there is a need for a device which is capable of accommodating a cat owner""s absence or inability to dump solid waste from kitty litter boxes at intervals required by typical litter boxes. Further, there is a need for a device which cooperates with the dumping of solid waste from the kitty litter boxes to automatically replenish the supply of kitty litter in the box. Such device should also be compatible with current self-cleaning kitty litter box designs, should be easy to operate, easy to clean, easy to assemble, and easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
It is an object according to the present invention to provide a device adaptable to a kitty litter box for transferring waste from the kitty litter box while providing for the replenishing of kitty litter within the box.
It is another object according to the present invention to provide a device compatible with current self-cleaning kitty litter boxes for receiving and transferring waste therefrom and replenishing the kitty litter therein.
It is still another object according to the present invention to provide a self-cleaning kitty litter box which is adapted to remove the waste from the main kitty litter tray, receive the waste, and transfer the waste to a storage apparatus while replenishing the kitty litter.
It is yet another object according to the present invention to provide a device for transferring waste from and replenishing kitty litter into a litter box which is simple to operate, clean and assemble.
It is still a further object according to the present invention to provide a device for transferring waste from a kitty litter box and storing such waste under circumstances under which the cat owner is unavailable or unable to clean or remove the wasted from kitty litter at suggested or predetermined intervals while replenishing the kitty litter in the box.
In carrying out the above object and other objects of the present invention, a kitty litter replenishment device for use with a self cleaning kitty litter box that has a rake that periodically cycles through the kitty litter in the box to move waste and associated kitty litter to a waste collection area is provided, It includes a storage area for kitty litter to replenish kitty litter in the box, and a release mechanism for controlling when predetermined amounts of kitty litter in the storage area is released into the box. The predetermined amount of kitty litter is released with each cycle of the rake a device for transporting solid animal waste is provided.
In another embodiment of the invention, a long-term kitty litter maintenance device for a self cleaning kitty litter box that has a rake that periodically cycles through the kitty litter in the box to move waste and associated kitty litter to a waste collection area is provided. It includes a waste storage device and a kitty litter replacement device that work together to allow a kitty litter box that can be used for long periods without little maintenance. It includes a collection member orientable between a first position and a second position. In the first position, the collection member receives the waste. It also has a drive mechanism mounted to the collection member for moving the collection member between the first position and the second position. A large capacity storage member is included for receiving the waste from the collection member and storing the waste. In the first position, the collection member serves as the waste collection area for waste from the kitty litter box and in the second position, the collection member is disposed adjacent the storage member and transfers the waste to the storage member through its opening for storage. Also included is a storage area for kitty litter to replenish kitty litter in the box, and a release mechanism for controlling when predetermined amounts of kitty litter in the storage area is released into the box. The predetermined amount of kitty litter being released with each cycle of the rake.
In a further embodiment of the invention, a kitty litter replenishment device for use with a self cleaning kitty litter box that has a rake that periodically cycles through the kitty litter in the box to move waste and associated kitty litter to a waste collection area is provided which includes a storage area for kitty litter to replenish kitty litter in the box positioned above the box and a release mechanism for controlling when predetermined but adjustable amounts of kitty litter in the storage area is released into the box. The predetermined amount of kitty litter is released with each cycle of the rake. The release mechanism releases the predetermined amount of kitty litter in response to abutment of a portion of the release mechanism by the rake in the course of movement during its cycle.
The above object and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the best mode for carrying out the invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.